Discharge device for discharging electric currents

A discharge device (10, 28) for discharging electric currents from a rotor part of a machine to a stator part of the machine, the rotor part having a shaft (30), the discharge device comprising a contact element (11, 34) and a spring (12, 35), the spring being connectable to the stator part in an electrically conductive manner, the contact element being made predominantly of carbon, the contact element being pressurized with a contact force by means of the spring for realizing an electrically conductive sliding contact (43) between a sliding contact surface (13, 41) of the contact element provided for realizing the sliding contact and an axial shaft contact surface (42) of the shaft, wherein the contact element is circular, the sliding contact surface being at least annular in shape and being disposed coaxially in relation to the shaft contact surface, the spring comprising a circular support section (15, 36) which coaxially encircles the shaft of the machine at least partially, the support section being configured for radially abutting against an abutment surface (39) of the stator part and the support section (15, 36) is realized by a radial circular washer (21) and an axial circular collar (22) adjacent thereto for abutting against the abutment surface (39).